Tuesday, September 18, 2012

Jail for woman who made up rape claim

A Nottingham woman who falsely claimed three men had raped her has been jailed for two years.

Rosie Dodd, 20, of North Sherwood Street, was sentenced at Nottingham Crown Court on Monday after lying to police that three men had raped her in June last year.

She claimed the men - aged 21, 23 and 25 - assaulted her at an address in Clifton in the early hours of Saturday 4 June.

She said she had gone back to a house with the men, who she had met while out in Nottingham, and they had each raped her.

They were arrested on suspicion of rape and spent a total of nearly 50 hours in police custody before being released on bail.

They maintained that Dodd had willingly had sex with them.

After carrying out further enquiries, police began to have concerns about Dodd’s account and, when challenged, she admitted that she had actually had consensual sex with the men and had made up the rape claims because she regretted it.

She was charged with perverting the course of justice, to which she pleaded guilty at a previous hearing.

Detective Constable Gina Farrell, who led the investigation, said: “We take every report of rape and sexual assault extremely seriously, just as we did in this case. But it soon became apparent that there were inconsistencies with Dodd’s account.

“The three men accused of rape were quite badly affected by the damaging accusations and Dodd has never shown an ounce of remorse for what she put them through.

“The time our specially-trained officers spent with her could have been spent with someone who really needed our help.”

Detective Inspector Stephen Waldram, head of the city Rape Investigation Team, added: “People lie that they’ve been raped for a multitude of reasons - like having regrets about having sex with a person, or as a way of getting back at someone.

“There is no justification for lying about something so serious and incredibly damaging and police actively investigate a false claim just as thoroughly as a genuine one to ensure innocent people are not convicted for something they didn’t do.

“It’s important to stress that anyone who contacts us to say they have been assaulted will be treated with the sensitivity and respect they deserve.

“It can be incredibly difficult for victims of rape to come forward to police and tell us what’s happened to them, which is why it’s so important for us to prosecute those who take up our time by lying to us.

“I would urge genuine victims to come forward and tell us if they have been raped or sexually assaulted. Only then can we begin to bring those responsible to justice.

“And I would remind anyone considering making a false report to think again. We carry out extremely thorough and in-depth investigations and their lies will be exposed.”